Ed Finnerty:FTFA: The Omaha father who accidentally shot his 18-year-old son while pheasant hunting in Iowa said Monday that he keeps replaying the accident but can't see what he could've done differently.

Weird. I would have gone with, "Not shoot my son."

Or, "I would have picked up my teen-ager permit so bagging him would be legal."

dahmers love zombie:Yeah, he's probably pretty happy they weren't deer hunting. A head full of #8 or so is gonna hurt like hell, but you'll get better. 2 or 3 pellets of 00 and that's all, folks.

Typically you use #6-4 for pheasant. No matter, high-brass #6 will not feel great.

The dude needed to make sure he was stable before taking that gun off safety. I don't know but things like that usually happen when you have the gun off safe before you bring it up to your shoulder...which you shouldn't do when bird hunting (or any other time if you can help it).

Pheasants cause problems. I once stopped my bicycle because of a pheasant and the cyclist behind me didn't see me stopped and smashed into me. Then I lay on the side of the road while a very large dog restrained with a leather harness and a thick chain barked from a nearby yard, foam flying from his lips at every bark. Stupid pheasant.

Eh, loose footing is something thought about more in hindsight. While it's always nice to think of every little thing, I think a lot of people would not think about footing unless they had it drilled into their heads.

It's kind of like how few people check their headlamps, fluid levels, and tire pressure before motoring and yet it's supposed to be done as part of basic safety.

When I was a kid, my uncles and cousins took me pheasant hunting for the first time in Nebraska. They gave me one of those hats with the flaps on ears and back of neck, informed me that I was the "dog" and not to take my hat off unless I liked picking shot out of my scalp. Later my cousins taught me "war": put on heavy overalls and face protection and fight with .410s. Good times in the Sandhills.

twistofsin:I'll bet most of the people who criticize the father in this thread have never even hunted in their life, let alone walked on a surface that wasn't paved or floored in the past 10 years.

Shouldn't a dude who shoots another person while hunting pheasant be criticized? Or is shooting relatives just accepted amongst hunters? Cause it seems like a horrific accident that should definitely be examined critically to prevent in the future. Then again, I am standing on a hard tile floor right now, so I'm probably talking out my ass.

Funny how an article about yet another firearm-related injury in this country (I think this makes #7,355,456,232) quickly veers off into a seeming editorial about how hunting is actually really safe and awesome.

I don't usually pick apart writing but this reporter is over-reaching or somehting:

It wasn't supposed to go like this. Both men took hunter safety classes together about six years ago - and dad had taken them before, as a younger man. - Oh really honey? in the past... he was... younger?

dropping the Skutt High School senior as if he had been hit by a baseball bat - good thing you attended last year's 'Who wants to get hit by a baseball bat' regional in Sioux City.

Doc Daneeka:Funny how an article about yet another firearm-related injury in this country (I think this makes #7,355,456,232) quickly veers off into a seeming editorial about how hunting is actually really safe and awesome.

FunkOut:twistofsin: I'll bet most of the people who criticize the father in this thread have never even hunted in their life, let alone walked on a surface that wasn't paved or floored in the past 10 years.

Yes, everyone who grew up in the country realises getting shot in the face is a normal thing.

Mrbogey:Eh, loose footing is something thought about more in hindsight. While it's always nice to think of every little thing, I think a lot of people would not think about footing unless they had it drilled into their heads.

It's kind of like how few people check their headlamps, fluid levels, and tire pressure before motoring and yet it's supposed to be done as part of basic safety.

I sort of agree and sort of disagree -- while you shouldn't have to be a boy scout about everything firearms are different. I was always taught to have extreme barrel control... If you take the safety off you better be on firm footing. I dont want to be hunting with some jackass who flips the safety off and snaps shots off at something he saw for a brief moment. Take a damn second to set your self up and shoot like a responsible individual rather than some gun toting redneck asskicker of the woods. Nobody likes that guy.

\Control of the barrel and safe shooting technique are kinda important to me in my hunting companions.